Espanyol, Elche share the spoils

Espanyol and Elche have played out a 1-1 draw in this evening's La Liga clash at the Estadi Cornella-El Prat.

The visitors were first to threaten as Edu Albacar fired high from outside the box in the first minute, before Jonathas sent a header just wide moments later.

There was little action for a while as play found itself broken up by a number of tackles and fouls in the middle of the park.

However, the game would soon get its first goal just after the quarter-hour mark when Sergio Garcia collected a pass outside the box and fired into the top corner to put Espanyol in the lead.

Aside from that moment of quality, the first half would prove quite tame, and there was little to report in the second half until just before the hour, when Lucas Vazquez's stinging effort was palmed away by Przemyslaw Tyton.

Elche worked their way back into the game and were level in the 77th minute when Cristian Herrera headed home from close range after Jonathas had initially been denied by Kiko Casilla.

Both sides gave it their all in the latter stages of the game in a bid to secure a winner, but no further goals came as the points were shared come the final whistle.

Espanyol sit 12th in La Liga following the draw, while Elche continue to languish in the lower reaches of the table, just three points off the drop zone.